Xfinity Driver Jesse Love to drive for RCA at Bristol. Bell wins pole- Gragson insults the Martinsville Trophy
By Roy J. Akers- www.skyviewsports.net
NASCAR moves to race 7 of the 2025 season at the Paperclip at Martinsville.
They Said It… Christopher Bell wins pole
Credit: MARTINSVILLE, VIRGINIA – MARCH 29: Christopher Bell, driver of the #20 DEWALT Outdoors Toyota (Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images)
Have your goals changed with the success you have seen early in the season?
“Certianly, winning the pole here at Martinsville – I would say that has far exceed our goals for qualifying at this place. It has been a very, very tough – tough history of me qualifying here at Martinsville. We have not even – I don’t think we’ve ever qualified in the top-five here. I’ve wanted to win a pole at a road course for a long time. Haven’t done that – but have been really close, but Martinsville, I wouldn’t have even said that winning a pole at Martinsville is a goal, because we haven’t even sniffed it, so it is really refreshing to get one. I don’t know – I’m excited to see how the race unfolds, because I’ve never had the opportunity to start up front here. I think it could – and likely would – be a different feel for me, having track position at the start.”
They Said It… William Byron
Q- Hendrick Motorsports has won three straight races here. The fall race has been a different story for the organization. Is there a difference between spring and fall races here that is the difference between you guys winning and losing?
Byron- “Yeah, I think typically there’s been a new tire going into the fall, so I don’t feel like we’ve had a repeat tire here at Martinsville in the Next Gen era. That’s really allowed us to hone in on our setup. So, yeah, that’s been, I feel like, part of the equation. And then, honestly, just the speed equation. I feel like we’ve been a step off in the fall. It seems like in the spring, everyone’s fairly even in the top five. The Gibbs cars can be pretty strong, and Penske is kind of not as strong in the spring, it seems like. And then they obviously get a lot better in the fall.“
Ryan Blaney on his success at Martinsville
Q-WHAT’S IT LIKE COMING BACK TO MARTINSVILLE KNOWING YOU’VE HAD SUCCESS?
Blaney: “It’s always nice to come back to places where you’ve run well. It gives you a little bit more of a sense of confidence like, ‘OK, I know what I need to be to be fairly decent here or contend for a top five or the win.’ It wasn’t always that way. I was terrible here my first two or three years at it and we worked really hard at figuring it out and it just kind of clicked one day and then it’s funny how those things stick with you. It’s like, ‘OK, this is the mindset I have to have coming into here,’ and it’s just kind of stuck. I do like coming here for multiple reasons. On track success is one thing. The other one is growing up not too far from here, so it does mean a lot, but it’s always nice when you come to places you’ve been good at and you just hope to keep that up.”
They Said It… Noah Gragson talks about the ‘obnoxious’ Martinsville trophy
Naturally, when talking about his Xfinity success and the win, he discussed one of the coolest trophies in all of sports – the grandfather clock. “It’s been a good place to me,” Gragson acknowledged. “And the coolest thing about going to Martinsville is the trophy with the grandfather clock and all the history with the track and the trophy. And the best part is it reminds you that you’ve won a race there every 15 minutes when you wind the thing up. So it’s pretty sick. Gragson goes on to say… “Only on Martinsville week because they ding like every 15 minutes,” the driver responded. “It gets obnoxious.”
They Said It… Jesse Love
Jesse Love will make his NASCAR Cup debut April 13 at Bristol Motor Speedway
Jesse Love will make his NASCAR Cup debut April 13 at Bristol Motor Speedway for Richard Childress Racing, the team announced Friday.
Jesse Love said: “Racing in the Cup Series has always been my main goal and dream,” Love said in a statement from the team. “Everything that I have done up to this point in my career has been building to this moment. To make my Cup Series debut at this age is very special, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to make it with RCR. Everyone has welcomed me with open arms over the last year and the organization feels like family.” Love’s No. 33 car at Bristol will be sponsored by C4 Ultimate Energy.
Roy J. Akers covers NASCAR for www.skyviewsports.net
